River Spirit
'River Spirits '''are sentient gods or spirits of local rivers, brooks, canals, and waterways. In formal Newtonian magic they are classified as a type of ''Genius Loci (Spirits of the Locality) by The Folly. It should be noted they do not use this term to classify themselves. As is the nature of Genius loci, river spirits can manifest in both natural and man-made waterways. Although the river spirits commonly interact with the magical community and the Demi-monde they do not consider themselves Fae or of the Demi-monde. Not all rivers and waterways posses a genius loci. ''For instance the Rivers Lugg, Misbourne, and Chess initially had no spirit.Foxglove Summer During Foxglove Summer, Beverley Brook explained that river spirits 'take care' and 'look after' the health of a river in a manner beyond the general environmental aid provided by the UK Canal Rivers Trust. River spirits are immensely powerful in terms of knowledge, magical ability, and influence. During the Covent Garden riot Beverley Brook, a small suburban river in South London, was able to summon water and flood the entire courtyard. The powers of river spirits seems to be diminished the further they are from their river and locality. In general river spirits take the appearance of actual persons who have died or sacrificed themselves in their river. The long geographical timescale of rivers conveys immortality and long memory to river spirits. River spirits can show signs of aging but they also have the power to change their appearance to appear older or younger. However spirits that are recently generated tend to have a childlike appearance and manner such as Chess, Morgane, and Brent, which eventually matures. River spirits of large and influential rivers such as the Thames are treated like royalty by the magical community. For example, Mama Thames and Father Thames both hold seasonal courts (Spring Court, Summer Court) where members of the magical community--including the Folly-- are expected to pay homage. Personality River Spirits thrive on symbolism, ritual and ceremony. Many genius loci seems to manifest character traits related to their catchment area. For instance: * River Crane runs in the outskirts of Heathrow Airport, and Crane is mostly abroad. * River Tyburn passes Downing Street, and Lady Ty has strong political connections. * River Ash runs past Shepparton Studios, and Ash is said to have film star good looks. * River Fleet runs along Fleet Street, a street known for its history of newspapers and printing. Fleet is the one of Mother Thames' daughters who handles the media. River Thames Bipartite Condominium of the River Thames Regarding the spirits who rule the Thames, everything upstream of Teddington Lock is controlled by Old Father Thames, while everything downsream (the tideway) is the territory of the younger Mother Thames. There are multiple other minor river spirits associated with the many tributaries of the Thames.Rivers of London Below Teddington Lock the spirits are colourful, female, and usually of African origin, embodying the cosmopolitan vibrancy and vigour of international trade through the Port of London. Upstream the spirits are generally male, with the appearence of “showmen” (travelling, fairground folk), more stolid in nature and white. They are much older, being associated with ancient Britain, as far back as before the Roman occupation. These older spirits used to occupy the whole of the Thames and its tributaries, from sea to source, but moved out of the city regions or died as a result of the massive water pollution of the 19th century, particularly the Great Stink of 1858. As the pollution reduced from the middle of the 20th century the older spirits failed to return and in 1957 the vacated rivers began being occupied by the current court of Mother Thames. Mama Thames' court Mother Thames aka ''Mama Thames. The Goddess of the River Thames. Tyburn aka Ty, Lady Ty. The strong minded goddess of the River Tyburn. Fleet A tributary of the river Thames whose original genius locorum, one of the sons of Father Thames, was killed as a result of sewage and water pollution in the nineteenth century. The vacant river was eventually occupied by one of Mother Thames’s court. The present day spirit is in her early thirties, stocky, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist, dark-skinned and built like a sprinter. Lea The oldest member of Mother Thames’s court, the spirit of the River Lea didn’t vacate her river in the nineteenth century as it was spared the lethal pollution which affected the rest of the city tributaries by virtue of it being the least urbanised. She is therefore of the same generation as the older river spirits, such as Oxley. Her appearence is that of a thin, white woman who dresses conservatively in cashmere or a twin-set and pearls. Beverley Brook A confident, spirited, intelligent teenage girl. Black Ditch A plump, smiley River Spirit in the court of Mother Thames. Brent Appears in the form of a nursery-age child. Crane A river spirit of Mother Thames’s court she is usually out of the country, travelling widely throughout the world and consorting with other rivers abroad. Effra Originally one of Father Thames’s sons, he died as a result of the overwhelming amounts of pollution affecting his river during the Victorian age. Effra is now a river spirit of Mother Thames's Court, with the form of an amazingly tall, slender woman with a fox-face and brightly coloured hair and nails. Nicky The genius loci of the river Neckinger. She has the appearance of a small girl. Chelsea and Olympia The river spirits of the rivers Counter's Creek and Westbourne, respectively. They have the appearance of two teenage girls, slightly younger than Beverley. River Rom Peter Grant was unsure if he got off or not with the goddess of the River Rom, while clubbing near Romford.Broken Homes Wallbrook Father Thames' court Father Thames aka Old Man of the River or Baba Thames. Ruling the Thames inland from Teddington Lock (from 1957), he is a peripatetic spirit inhabiting the Thames Valley. Before the Great Stink he inhabited the entire river. Ash Thames A son of Colne. He has filmstar good looks but is somewhat empty-headed. He and Beverley Brook were the two hostages exchanged in order to ensure peace between Mother and Father Thames. His river runs near Shepperton Film Studios. Cher The son of Father Thames.Lies Sleeping Colne Father of Colne Brook and Ash. Colne Brook The son of Colne. Ken The son of Father Thames. Oxley Tall and thick set, he is the most senior of Father Thames’s court, the chief adviser to Father Thames. Isis is his common-law wife; they met at the Old Theatre Royal, on Drury Lane. His original human form was a monk. Wey The son of Father Thames. Other Thames spirits Walbrook Walbrook wants, despite belonging to a river in the City of London, nothing to do with Mama Thames and her daughters. = Other British rivers = River Avon Avon River Chess Chess River Lugg The deity of the River Lugg was, according to miss Tefeidiad, “done in” by Welsh Methodists. River Tay Tay River Teme Tefeidiad Pre-Roman goddess. Corve The daughter of Miss Tefeidiad Lilly The daughter of Miss Tefeidiad River Severn Sabrina =Non-British Rivers= The Don The river has at least ten gods and goddesses. The Mosel (or Moselle) The river has both a French and a German deity. The Rhine Mama Thames mentioned that the Rhine Maidens had visited her. It was later confirmed that the river has several goddesses. Yellowstone River According to accounts by a Robert Sharp, the god of Yellowstone River was killed by practitioners from Virginia in 1877. =Canals= The Genius loci of a canal is different from that of a river, according to Fleet and Lady Ty.King of the Rats Grand Union Canal The Genius loci of Grand Union Canal, was believed to once have been an orangutan living in London Zoo. An ape woman had attacked Fleet and Lady Ty, when they had walked along the tow path. She apparently had a dispute with Mama Thames, but the sisters didn't know what about. Beverley Brook spoke about sitting too close to Grand Union Canal, without asking for the permission from a Mrs. Canal, when being near the canal with Peter Grant. Peter, having met the genius loci of the canal, thought she wasn't that fussy provided you brought her a banana.The Hanging Tree She might reside in a four-storey Georgian terrace on St Mark's Crescent, near Regent's Park. References Category:Genius loci